This invention relates to the removal of sulfur compounds from fluid streams containing such compounds by contacting these fluid streams with a sorbent composition. Another aspect of this invention is that it relates to a method for the manufacture of sorbent compounds.
The removal of sulfur from fluid streams can be desirable or necessary for a variety of reasons. If the fluid stream is to be released as a waste stream, removal of sulfur from the fluid stream can be necessary to meet the sulfur emission requirements set by various air pollution control authorities. Such requirements are generally in the range of about 10 ppm to 500 ppm of sulfur in the fluid stream. If the fluid stream is to be burned as a fuel, removal of sulfur from the fluid stream can be necessary to prevent environmental pollution. If the fluid stream is to be processed, removal of the sulfur is often necessary to prevent the poisoning of sulfur-sensitive catalysts or to satisfy other process requirements.
Various sorption materials have been proposed as sorbents for the removal of sulfur compounds from fluid streams containing such compounds. Of these materials, many do not have the desirable properties necessary for being effective, commercially viable sorbing materials. In order for a sorbent composition to be commercially useable, it must have a high sulfur-sorption capacity and it must be capable of efficiently removing significant amounts of sulfur from sulfur contaminated fluid streams. It has been found that many of these sorbent compositions effectively oxidize certain quantities of hydrogen sulfide, when contacted with such compositions, to sulfur dioxide with the resulting sulfur dioxide thereafter passing through the contact material with the treated fluid stream. This phenomenon is sometimes called sulfur slippage. It is desirable to have a sorption material which not only has a high capacity to adsorb or absorb, or both, sulfur from a fluid stream, but also, minimizes the amount of sulfur slippage.